Facilitating user configured assistance requests through a chat in a virtual space

ABSTRACT

A system and method for facilitating a user to initiate and accept an assistance request through a chat session is disclosed. Controls may be provided in a graphical chat interface to enable the user to specify inputs to request assistance from other users participating in the chat session. An assistance request may be generated and communicated to those users through the chat session. Graphical representation for the assistance request and controls that facilitate the users to accept the assistance request may be provided in the graphical chat interface. Upon an acceptance to the assistance request by a responding user through the graphical chat interface, an assistance command may be generated and executed in the virtual space.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to facilitating user collaboration through agraphical chat interface provided by a virtual space provider withoutrequiring users to leave the graphical chat interface, the facilitateduser collaboration includes initiating assistance request and acceptingthe assistance request using the graphical chat interface.

BACKGROUND

Systems that provide chat within a virtual space are known. Typically,in those systems, chat may be provided to facilitate textualcommunications between users in the virtual space. Systems that enableusers to provide assistance to other users through game interfaces arealso know. In those systems, controls may be provided in game interfacesfor a user to provide assistance to another user in the game. Typically,through such controls, the user is required to take multiple steps toprovide assistance. For example, a user may transport troops to anotheruser by selecting a location controlled by another player (e.g., a city)in a game interface, specifying types and/or amount of troops to betransported to that location in a settings interface, and initiatingexecution of the specified troop transportation in the game. However, inthose systems, a user may not proactively provide executable assistancerequest to other users.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure relates to facilitating user collaborationin a virtual space by enabling a user to initiate an assistance requestthrough a graphical chat interface provided by a virtual space provider.Controls may be provided in the graphical chat interface to facilitatethe user to submit the assistance request and to communicate theassistance request to other users through a chat session. The requestedassistance may be readily executed in the virtual space upon acceptanceof the assistance request by one or more responding users through thegraphical chat interface. This may enhance user collaboration and/orsocial interaction in the virtual space by enabling the assistancerequesting user to proactively initiate assistance requests that may bequickly and readily acted upon by other users in the chat session.

Another aspect of the disclosure relates to enabling users to acceptassistance requests initiated by other users through the graphical chatinterface and provide the requested assistance without having to takemultiple steps required by conventional virtual space systems.Executable assistance requests communicated in a chat session may bepresented through the chat interface and the responding users mayprovide the requested assistance by simply accepting the assistancerequest. In some implementations, controls may be provided in thegraphical chat interface for responding users to modify one or moreterms of the assistance requests. As so enabled, users may provideassistance in response to assistance requests through a graphical chatinterface without having to taking actions in the virtual space througha virtual space interface. This may improve monetization and/orretention rate in the virtual space as users may provide assistance toother users in the virtual space while still engaging in socialinteractions in the chat.

In some implementations, a system configured to facilitate userconfigured assistance requests through a chat in the virtual space mayinclude a server. The server may operate in a client/server architecturewith one or more client computing platforms. The client computingplatforms may be associated with the users of the virtual space. Theserver may be configured to execute one or more of a space module, achat-request module, a chat module, a request-response module, and/orother modules. The client computing platforms may be configured toexecute one or more of a space interface module, a chat interfacemodule, a user response module, an assistance request module, and/or anyother modules.

The space module may be configured to execute an instance of a virtualspace. The space module may implement the instance of the virtual spaceto facilitate user interaction with the virtual space. Users mayinteract with the virtual space through collaboration that facilitates,for example, assistance between the users, coordination of theiractions, sharing of virtual space information, virtual resources,virtual items, skills, abilities and/or other user elements between theusers, negotiation, competition, social interaction, and/or any othercollaborative activities. For example, within the instance of thevirtual space, a user may request other users to provide assistance tocomplete an activity in the virtual space. Such an assistance requestmay be accepted by a responding user(s). Responsive to an acceptance ofthe assistance request, the space module may execute the acceptance inthe virtual space.

Chat module may be configured to implement chat sessions to facilitatesynchronous textual communications between users. The textualcommunications may include one or more of textual chat, instantmessages, private messages, and/or other textual communications. Thetextual communications may facilitate the users to share informationabout the virtual space, engage in social interactions, recruit otherusers, invite other users to cooperate, and/or engage in any otheractivities enabled by the textual communications. The chat module maytransmit the textual communications for presentation through graphicalchat interfaces on client computing platforms.

Chat-request module may be configured to receive user inputs requestingassistance submitted through graphical chat interfaces. The receiveduser inputs may specify one or more assistance objectives established bythe requesting user, which may provide an opportunity and/or motivationfor other users to assist and/or cooperate with the requesting user.Simultaneously or alternatively, the received user inputs may specifyone or more virtual resources, virtual items, virtual entities, and/orany other components to be transferred to the assistance requesting userto further the assistance objective(s). Responsive to receiving suchuser inputs, the chat-request module may be configured to generateassistance requests. In some implementations, this may involve parsingthe received user inputs requesting assistance, extracting assistancerequest parameters from the user inputs, and constructing the assistancerequest using predetermined syntax. Responsive to generation of theassistance requests, the chat-request module may be configured tocommunicate the assistance requests to other users through a chatsession.

The response-request module may be configured to receive user acceptanceto the assistance requests and to generate assistance commandsexecutable by the space module. A received user acceptance may specifythat a responding user has accepted a corresponding assistance request,and, in some examples, may specify that the responding user has modifiedterms of the requested assistance. Responsive to receiving such anacceptance to the assistance request, the response-request module maygenerate one or more assistance commands executable by the space moduleto effectuate the assistance provided through the acceptance. This mayinvolve parsing the user acceptance, extracting assistance parameters,and constructing assistance commands using predetermined syntax.

The space interface module may be configured to generate spaceinterfaces on a display coupled to or included in a client computingplatform associated with a user. The generated space interfaces maypresent views of virtual space to the user and/or provide one or morevirtual space controls to facilitate user actions in the virtual space.

The chat interface module may be configured to generate graphical chatinterfaces to facilitate textual communications between the users. Thegenerated graphical chat interfaces may replace space interfacesgenerated by the space interface module on the display coupled to orincluded in the client computing platform. That is, when presented onthe display, the generated chat interfaces and space interfaces aremutually exclusive such that the user may not access controls providedby the space interfaces when the chat interfaces are presented on thedisplay, and vice versa. The generated graphical chat interface maypresent on the display communication inputs included in a chat session,which may comprise assistance requests. The chat interface module may beconfigured to determine an assistance request from other type(s)communication inputs in the chat session. Responsive to such adetermination, the chat interface module may generate a visual displayfor the assistance request. Examples of such a visual display mayinclude an image, a graphical art, an animation, and/or any other visualdisplay that may visually describe the assistance request.Simultaneously or alternatively, the chat interface module may alsogenerate one or more controls for the user to provide inputs to acceptthe assistance request. In some implementations, the generated graphicalchat interface may include controls for the user to initiate anassistance request.

The user response module may be configured to determine use acceptanceto the assistance requests based on user inputs via the graphical chatinterface generated by the chat interface module. This may involveparsing the user inputs received from the graphical chat interface,extracting assistance parameters from the received user inputs anddetermining user acceptance to the assistance request. Responsive to adetermination of user acceptance to the assistance request, the userresponse module may communicate the user acceptance to the requestinguser through a chat session.

The assistance request module may be configured to generatecommunication inputs to a chat session based on user inputs requestingassistance submitted through the graphical chat interface. This mayinvolve generating communication inputs transmittable in a chat sessionby parsing the user inputs submitted through the graphical chatinterface. Responsive to the determined communication inputs, theassistance request module may communicate the generated communicationinputs to other users through the chat session.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system configured to facilitate userconfigured assistance requests through a chat in a virtual space.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a client computing platform as shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A illustrates one example of a graphical chat interfaceimplemented on client computing platform in accordance with thedisclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of graphical chat interface facilitatinga user to request an assistance request through a chat session.

FIG. 3C illustrates an example of graphical chat interface facilitatinga user to accept an assistance request communicated through a chatsession.

FIG. 3D illustrate an example of graphical chat interface facilitating auser to accept the assistance request communicated through a chatsession.

FIG. 3E illustrate another example of graphical chat interfacefacilitating a user to accept the assistance request communicatedthrough a chat session.

FIG. 3F illustrates an example of graphical chat interface facilitatinga user to respond to a modified acceptance of assistance request.

FIG. 4A illustrates another example of a graphical chat interfaceimplemented on client computing platform 104 in accordance with thedisclosure.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of chat interface as shown in FIG. 4Afacilitating a user to transport troops to a city through an alliancechat.

FIG. 4C illustrates an example of chat interface facilitating a user tospecify types and amount of troops to be transported to a city inresponse to an assistance request in an alliance chat session.

FIG. 4D illustrates another example of chat interface as shown in FIG.4A facilitating a user to transport troops to a city through an alliancechat.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method of enabling a user to requestassistance through a chat in accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method of facilitating a user to acceptan assistance request through a chat session.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method of generating an assistancerequest and communicating the assistance request through a chat session.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system 100 configured to facilitateuser configured assistance requests through a chat session in a virtualspace. In system 100, a user may specify inputs through a graphical chatinterface to request assistance from other users available in the chatsession. A corresponding assistance request may be generated based onthe user inputs and communicated to other user through the chat session.One or more users in the chat session may accept the assistance requestand the acceptances may be executed in the virtual space. This mayenhance user collaboration in the virtual space such that userassistance may be requested and fulfilled through graphical chatinterfaces directly.

In some implementations, system 100 may include a server 102. The server102 may be configured to communicate with one or more client computingplatforms 104 according to a client/server architecture. The users mayaccess system 100 and/or the virtual space via client computingplatforms 104. Server 102 may be configured to execute one or morecomputer program modules. The one or more computer program modules mayinclude one or more of a space module 106, a chat-request module 108, achat module 110, a response-request module 112, and/or other modules.

Space module 106 may be configured to implement the instance of thevirtual space executed by the computer modules. The instance of thevirtual space may reflect the state of the virtual space. The instanceof the virtual space may be used to push state information to clientsfor implementation on the clients, may be used to verify stateinformation generated on clients executing expressions of the instancelocally, and/or for other purposes. State information may includeinformation about the state of the virtual space such as, withoutlimitation, position information of one or more objects, topographyinformation, object status/shape information, battle information, scoreinformation, user or character progress information, user inventoryinformation, progress information for one or more activities or actions,view information describing a view of the virtual space, and/or otherinformation that describes the state of the virtual space. Expressionsof the instance executed on the clients facilitate presentation of viewson the clients of the virtual space. Expressions of the instanceexecuted on the clients may be configured to simply present views of thevirtual space based on the state information (e.g., via streaming viewinformation, object/position information, and/or other stateinformation) received from space module 106. Expressions of the instanceexecuted on the clients may include space logic that effectivelyprovides for execution of a limited version of the instance on a clientthat is synchronized and/or verified with state information receivedfrom space module 106. The view presented on a given client maycorrespond to a location in the virtual space (e.g., the location fromwhich the view is taken, the location the view depicts, and/or otherlocations), a zoom ratio, a dimensionality of objects, a point-of-view,and/or view parameters. One or more of the view parameters may beselectable by the user.

The instance of the virtual space may comprise a simulated space that isaccessible by users via clients (e.g., client computing platforms 104)that present the views of the virtual space to a user. The simulatedspace may have a topography, express ongoing real-time interaction byone or more users, and/or include one or more objects positioned withinthe topography that are capable of locomotion within the topography. Insome instances, the topography may be a 2-dimensional topography. Inother instances, the topography may be a 3-dimensional topography. Thetopography may include dimensions of the space, and/or surface featuresof a surface or objects that are “native” to the space. In someinstances, the topography may describe a surface (e.g., a groundsurface) that runs through at least a substantial portion of the space.In some instances, the topography may describe a volume with one or morebodies positioned therein (e.g., a simulation of gravity-deprived spacewith one or more celestial bodies positioned therein). The instanceexecuted by the computer modules may be synchronous, asynchronous,and/or semi-synchronous.

The above description of the views of the virtual space determined fromthe instance executed by space module 106 is not intended to belimiting. The virtual space may be presented in a more limited, orricher, manner. For example, views of the virtual space may be selectedfrom a limited set of graphics depicting an event in a given placewithin the virtual space. The views may include additional content(e.g., text, audio, pre-stored video content, and/or other content) thatdescribes particulars of the current state of the place, beyond therelatively generic graphics. For example, a view may include a genericbattle graphic with a textual description of the opponents to beconfronted. Other representations of individual places within thevirtual space are contemplated.

Within the instance of the virtual space executed by space module 106,users may control characters, objects, simulated physical phenomena(e.g., wind, rain, earthquakes, and/or other phenomena), and/or otherelements within the virtual space to interact with the virtual spaceand/or each other. The user characters may include avatars. As usedherein, the term “user character” may refer to an object (or group ofobjects) present in the virtual space that represents an individualuser. The user character may be controlled by the user, with which it isassociated. The user controlled element(s) may move through and interactwith the virtual space (e.g., non-user characters in the virtual space,other objects in the virtual space). The user may initiate maneuvers todirect the movements of controlled character in the virtual space. Theuser controlled elements controlled by and/or associated with a givenuser may be created and/or customized by the given user. The user mayhave an “inventory” of virtual goods and/or currency that the user canuse (e.g., by manipulation of a user character or other user controlledelement, and/or other items) within the virtual space.

Within the instance of the virtual space executed by space module 106,virtual space activities may be provided to users to interact with thevirtual space. Examples of virtual space activities may includeconstructing, upgrading, demolishing buildings, training, marching,reinforcing, reassigning, recruiting, arranging formations, and/ortransporting troops, attacking, developing, creating, demolishing and/ordefending cities, realms, kingdoms, and/or any other virtual spacelocation entities, crafting or transporting virtual items, attacking,and/or interacting with non-player characters (NPCs herein-after) and/orother user characters, researching for skills levels, experiences,mining and/or prospecting for virtual resources, completing missions,quests, and/or campaigns, and/or any other activities provided by thevirtual space. Some virtual space activities may engage the usersagainst an environment within the virtual space—i.e., PvE activities. Insome examples, the virtual space activities may engage the users tocompete against one another within the virtual space—i.e., PvPactivities.

The user may participate in the instance of the virtual space byinitiating actions in the virtual space. In some implementations, theactions may be enabled by physical controls provided by the clientcomputing platforms 104, such as but not limited to, play buttons,joysticks, motion sensors, cameras, keyboards, mouse, and/or any otherphysical controls provided by client computing platforms 104. In someimplementations, the actions may be enabled by controls provided bygraphical user interface (GUI) implemented on client computing platforms104, such as but not limited to, graphics, menus, dialog boxes, forms,sliding bars, buttons, radio box, tabs, and/or any other controlsprovided by the GUI. In any case, as so enabled to initiate actions inthe virtual space, the user may provide inputs to initiate virtual spacemaneuvers, to participate in virtual activities and/or engage in otherinteractions within the virtual space. For example, user may provide aninput specifying an amount of troops to be marched to a virtual spacelocation when defending that virtual space location. Commands may begenerated for the user initiated actions and may be executed by thespace module 106 in the virtual space such that the user requestedinteractions with the virtual space may be effectuated in the virtualspace following the execution. Execution of such a command by the spacemodule 106 may produce changes to the virtual space state, which mayreflect progresses and/or results of the user initiated actions.

Within the instance of the virtual space executed by space module 106,resources may be, for example, generated, cultivated, mined, harvested,purchased, earned, traded and/or gifted over time by units, characters,pets, buildings, facilities and/or any other infrastructure or entity inthe virtual space for the user. Resources may be prospected. Resourcesmay be virtual items of value that can be accumulated throughparticipation in the virtual space, rather than virtual items that canonly be bought. Resources may be virtual items that are accumulated enmasse and then used to satisfy resource requirements in the virtualspace. By way of non-limiting examples, virtual space resources mayinclude food (e.g., rice, fish, wheat, etc.), wood, minerals (e.g.,good, iron, ore, coal, oil, stone, crystal, etc.), plants, animals,virtual items, virtual currencies, and/or any other resourcesappropriate for the virtual space. Transfer of resources between usersmay be reflected through user inventories such that the transferoruser's inventory reduces an amount of the transferred resources that areadded to the transferee user.

Some virtual space activities may require consumption of virtualresources. During the virtual space activities, an amount of theresources required by the virtual space activities may be increased ordecreased in the user inventory to reflect a consumption (includingexhaustion) or procurement of the resources in the virtual space by theuser. Some virtual space activities may be associated with timerequirements for them to complete in the virtual space. Length of timedurations required by different virtual space activities may vary basedon various factors specific to the virtual space activities. Forexample, constructing a level 1 wall in the virtual space may require 30minutes build time; constructing a level 2 wall may require 1 hour buildtime; constructing a level 3 wall may require 2 hour build time;constructing a level 4 wall may require 3 hour build time; and so on.Such required duration for an activity to complete within the virtualspace may be shortened by user consumption of virtual items and/orresources. For example, hourglasses may be provided to users to shortenbuild time of a wall by various amount of time.

In some examples, virtual space activities may require user inputs fromthe users to facilitate participation of the activities by the users. Asa virtual space activity progresses within the virtual space, one ormore events within the virtual space may occur in relation to thevirtual space activity. For example, during a troop marching activityengaged by a user, troops may be fatigued due to marching overunexpected treacherous terrains and therefore require morale boost to beprovided by the user, e.g., by consuming virtual space resources. Inanother example, during a mining activity engaged by the user, NPCintruders (e.g., barbarians) may roam around the mines owned by the userand thus require the user to transport troops to defend the mines.

Within the instance of the virtual space executed by space module 106,users may interact with one another. Interaction between the users mayinclude user collaboration that coordinates the user actions in thevirtual space, virtual resources, virtual items, skills, abilitiesand/or other user elements sharing between the users, assistance fromone user to another and/or any other collaboration between the users toreach a collaboration objective. In some examples, for enhancedcollaboration in the virtual space, alliances may be established tospecify alliance agendas and enforce rules of conducts by which alliancemembers should conduct toward each other.

The user collaboration may include assistance between the users. A usermay request other users to provide assistance to complete an activity inthe virtual space. Such an assistance request may be accepted byresponding user(s). The responses may be executed by the space module toeffectuate the assistance provided in the acceptances. Such assistancemay include, for example, transferring virtual resources, items and/orentities from the responding user's inventory to the requesting user'sinventory within the virtual space. The transferred resources, items,and/or entities may be consumed or utilized to further the assistanceobjective established by the requesting user.

By way of non-limiting examples, user assistance in the virtual mayinclude help defend virtual locations controlled by a requesting user,help the assistance receiving user speed up research time, constructionand/or upgrade time of buildings, help train troops of the requestinguser, transport troops to the requesting user controlled virtual spacelocations, provide the requesting user skills, experience, expertiseand/or abilities, cooperate with the requesting user in activities,missions, quests, campaigns in the virtual space, to attack commonenemies, NPC, monsters, characters and/or virtual space locationscontrolled by other users, to explore the virtual space with therequesting user, and/or any other user assistance. Such user assistancemay be executed and effectuated in the virtual space by the space module106, and in some examples may result in transfers of virtual resources,virtual items, virtual space entities and/or any other virtual spacecomponents from the assistance providing user to the assistancereceiving user.

Chat-request module 108 may be configured receive user inputs requestingassistance submitted through graphical chat interfaces. The receiveduser inputs may specify one or more assistance objectives established bythe requesting user, which may provide an opportunity and/or motivationfor other users to assist and/or cooperate with the requesting user.Such assistance objectives may include, but not limited to, helpingdefend a city, helping attack a monster, helping construct a building,helping research for a skill, helping train troops, helping explorevirtual space, and/or any other assistance objectives that may providean opportunity and/or motivation for other users to assist therequesting user.

Simultaneously or alternatively, the received user inputs may specifyone or more virtual resources, virtual items, virtual entities, and/orany other components to be transferred to the assistance requesting userto further the assistance objective(s). By way of non-limiting examples,the user inputs may request an amount of stone, wood, and ore to betransferred to the requesting user for upgrading a knight's hall in therequesting user's city; may request that a number of troops to betransported to the requesting user's city to strengthen the citydefense; may request a virtual item, a skill, or an ability to be sharedwith the requesting user for a period of time; may request toattack/defend a virtual space location, to undertake a quest, to explorea virtual space area, just to name a few.

The user inputs requesting assistance may be received by thechat-request module 108 through, for example, graphical chat interfacesimplemented on the client computing platforms 104. For instance,controls may be provided in a graphical chat interface that allows therequesting user to request virtual resources to be transferred fromalliance members to the requesting user through a chat session.Accordingly, such user inputs may be transmitted to the chat-requestmodule 108 through the graphical chat interface.

Responsive to receiving such user inputs, the chat-request module 108may be configured to generate assistance requests. In someimplementations, the chat-request module 108 may be configured to parsethe received user inputs, extract assistance request parameters from theuser inputs, and construct the assistance request using assistancerequest syntax predetermined by provider, administrator, moderator,and/or any other entities related to the virtual space at aconfiguration stage of system 100. For example, the parse assistanceparameters may include chat session(s) addressed, assistanceobjective(s), type, amount of virtual space resources, items, and/orentities that may be contributed by a responding user towards theassistance objective, a time frame for assistance, a location forassistance and/or any other assistance parameters.

The chat-request module 108 may be configured to communicate thegenerated assistance requests through chat sessions within the virtualspace. In some implementations, for such communication, the chat-requestmodule 108 may be configured to parse the received user inputsrequesting assistance for requested recipients and determine one or morechat sessions through which these recipients may be reached. In someexamples, the received user inputs requesting assistance may not specifyany specific users the request is directed to, but rather any useravailable in a chat session. In any case, based on the received userinputs, the chat-request module 108 may be configured to generatecommunication inputs using communication input syntax predetermined byprovider, administrator, moderator, and/or any other entities related tothe virtual space. In some implementations, the chat-request module 108may be configured to serialize communication of the assistance requestsbased on an order by which they were received by the chat-request module108.

Chat module 110 may be configured to implement chat sessions tofacilitate textual communications between users. The textualcommunications may include one or more of textual chat, instantmessages, private messages, and/or other communications. The textualcommunications may facilitate the users to share information about thevirtual space, engage in social interactions, recruit other users,invite other users to cooperate in the virtual space and/or engage inany other activities enabled the textual communication. The textualcommunications may be received and entered by the users via theirrespective client computing platforms 104 and may be routed to and fromthe appropriate users through server 102 via a chat session implementedby the chat module 110. A chat session may include complete textualcommunication inputs from users who have participated in the chatsession. The textual communication inputs in a chat session may bestored on and accessed from the electronic storage 122. In someexamples, a chat session may be open ended within the virtual space suchthat it does not finish until a provider, administrator, moderator,and/or any other entities related to the virtual space decide not toprovide the chat session through the chat module 110. In some otherexamples, a chat session may be initiated and stopped by users at anytime as desired.

In some implementations, chat sessions may be implemented by the chatmodule based on user relationships. A global chat session may beimplemented such that communication inputs from users may be received byany other users who participate in the global chat session. Typically,no specific virtual space relationships may be required for users toparticipate in the global chat session. Such a global chat session maybe open ended and users may join or leave the global chat session at anytime as desired. An alliance chat session may be implemented differentlyfrom the global chat session in that only alliance members mayparticipate in the alliance chat session. Typically, individual alliancechat sessions are implemented by the chat module for correspondingalliances in the virtual space. Like the global chat session, analliance chat sessions may allow alliance members to join or leave thealliance chat session at any time and may be open ended. A private chatsession may be implemented by the chat module 110 to facilitate usercontrolled communication between or among individual users. For example,a user may initiate a private chat session to communicate with one ormore other users. Unlike global or alliance chat sessions, private chatsessions may not be open ended such that the users may initiate and stopthe private chat sessions as desired. It is understood that the aboveexamples of different types of chat sessions are described only forillustration purposes, and thus are not intended to be limiting. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate the chat module 110 mayimplement chat sessions in any other ways to facilitate communicationbetween users in other examples.

In any case, the textual communications between the users in a chatsession implemented by the chat module 110 may be either synchronous orasynchronous. In synchronous communication, individual users may receivecommunication inputs from other users in real-time or near real-time,i.e., without significant delay. In asynchronous communication, timedelays may occur between sending communications inputs and receiving thesent communication inputs. In some implementations, the chat module 110may be configured to mediate asynchronous communication to ensurecorrect receiving orders.

In some implementations, the textual communications between usersfacilitated by the chat module 110 may be location based. For example,synchronous communication may be provided by the chat module to userswith user characters engaging in activities within an area of virtualspace. For instance, users located in a specific realm of virtual spacemay engage in real-time or near real-time communication with oneanother. On the other hand, asynchronous communication may be providedto users with user characters located in different areas of virtualspace.

In any case, the chat module 110 may be configured to receive andtransmit communication inputs in a chat. For such transmission, the chatmodule 110 may be configured to mediate the communication inputs using,for example, semaphores, linked-list, priority list, flag, time-stamps,and/or any other methods to ensure correct transmission order of thecommunication inputs. For effectuating the transmission of thecommunication inputs to individual client computing platforms 104, thechat module may be configured to package the communication inputs intopackets that may be routed to the client computing platforms by theunderlying networks as shown in FIG. 1.

The chat module 110 may be configured to implement chat sessions thatinclude assistance requests generated by the chat-request module 108. Insome implementations, the chat module 110 may determine the assistancerequests from other type(s) of communication inputs in the chatsessions, determine the identity information of the requesting user,determine time stamps when the assistance requests were received in thechat session, and/or determine any other information related to theassistance requests.

The response-request module 112 may be configured to receive useracceptance to the assistance requests and to generate commands toeffectuate the assistance provided through the received responses in thevirtual space. A received user acceptance may specify that a respondinguser has accepted a corresponding assistance request, and, in someexamples, may specify that the responding user has modified terms of therequested assistance. By way of non-limiting examples, the modifiedterms may include a different amount of virtual resources or virtualspace entities from that requested, a different type of virtualresources from that requested, a different time frame to assist fromthat requested, a different virtual space location for assistance fromthat requested and/or any other modified terms that may be included in aresponse to an assistance request.

In some implementations, the response-request module 112 may receive theacceptance to assistance requests from the chat module 110. For example,a responding user may send the acceptance through a chat session byacting on the request in the chat session. Such an acceptance may bereceived and recognized by the chat module 110, which may be configuredto push the acceptance to the response-request module 112 for furtheraction. However, this is not necessarily the only case. In anotherexample, the acceptance may be transmitted to the response-requestmodule 112 directly from a client platform 104 associated with theresponding user. In that example, response-request module 112 may beconfigured to interact with a network module of system 100 to receivethe acceptance directly from the user without, for example, examiningthe chat session.

In any case, responsive to receiving user acceptance to the assistancerequests, the response-request module 112 may be configured to generateone or more assistance commands to effectuate the assistance providedthrough the user responses. In the case where the acceptance indicatesthat the responding user has accepted the assistance request as is, theresponse-request module 112 may be configured to generate the assistancecommands based on the assistance request parameters extracted by thechat-request module 108. In the case where the acceptance indicates thatthe responding user has accepted the request but modified the terms ofthe assistance requested, the response-request module 112 may beconfigured to parse the received acceptance to extract assistanceparameters as provided by the responding user. Syntax for acceptance toassistance request may be determined by the provider, administrator,moderator, and/or any other entities related to the virtual space at aconfiguration stage of system 100 and may be used for parsing suchacceptances.

Based on the determined assistance parameters, the response-requestmodule 112 may generate one or more assistance commands executable bythe space module 106 to effectuate the assistance provided by theresponse in the virtual space. For example, in the case where a userresponse specifies that it accepts a request to transfer 1000 stonestoward the requesting user's upgrading of a knight's hall, theresponse-request module 112 may generate a command to transfer the 1000stones from the responding user's inventory to the requesting user'sinventory and subsequently consume the 1000 stone in the requestinguser's inventory as required by the upgrade of the requesting user'sknight's hall.

The server 102, client computing platforms 104, and/or externalresources 120 may be operatively linked via one or more electroniccommunication links. For example, such electronic communication linksmay be established, at least in part, via a network such as the Internetand/or other networks. It will be appreciated that this is not intendedto be limiting, and that the scope of this disclosure includesimplementations in which servers 102, client computing platforms 104,and/or external resources 120 may be operatively linked via some othercommunication media.

A given client computing platform 104 may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute computer program modules. The computer programmodules may be configured to enable an expert or user associated withthe given client computing platform 104 to interface with system 100and/or external resources 118, and/or provide other functionalityattributed herein to client computing platforms 104. By way ofnon-limiting example, the given client computing platform 104 mayinclude one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheldcomputer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, a Smartphone, a gamingconsole, and/or other computing platforms. An example of computingplatform 104 is illustrated in FIG. 2.

External resources 118 may include sources of information, hosts and/orproviders of virtual environments outside of system 118, externalentities participating with system 100, and/or other resources. In someimplementations, some or all of the functionality attributed herein toexternal resources 118 may be provided by resources included in system100.

Server 102 may include electronic storage 122, one or more processors120, and/or other components. Server 102 may include communicationlines, or ports to enable the exchange of information with a networkand/or other computing platforms. Illustration of server 102 in FIG. 1is not intended to be limiting. Server 102 may include a plurality ofhardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together toprovide the functionality attributed herein to server 102. For example,server 102 may be implemented by a cloud of computing platformsoperating together as server 102.

Electronic storage 122 may comprise non-transitory storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 122 may include one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server 102and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server 102via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or adrive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 122 may include oneor more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage116 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloudstorage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). Electronic storage 122 may store software algorithms,information determined by processor 120, information received fromserver 102, information received from client computing platforms 104,and/or other information that enables server 102 to function asdescribed herein.

Processor(s) 120 is configured to provide information processingcapabilities in server 102. As such, processor 120 may include one ormore of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuitdesigned to process information, an analog circuit designed to processinformation, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronicallyprocessing information. Although processor 120 is shown in FIG. 1 as asingle entity, this is for illustrative purposes only. In someimplementations, processor 120 may include a plurality of processingunits. These processing units may be physically located within the samedevice, or processor 120 may represent processing functionality of aplurality of devices operating in coordination. The processor 120 may beconfigured to execute modules 106, 108, 110, 112 and/or other modules.Processor 120 may be configured to execute modules 106, 108, 110, 112and/or other modules by software; hardware; firmware; some combinationof software, hardware, and/or firmware; and/or other mechanisms forconfiguring processing capabilities on processor 120. As used herein,the term “module” may refer to any component or set of components thatperform the functionality attributed to the module. This may include oneor more physical processors during execution of processor readableinstructions, the processor readable instructions, circuitry, hardware,storage media, or any other components.

It should be appreciated that although modules 106, 108, 110, 112 areillustrated in FIG. 1 as being implemented within a single processingunit, in implementations in which processor 122 includes multipleprocessing units, one or more of modules 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116may be implemented remotely from the other modules. The description ofthe functionality provided by the different modules 106, 108, 110, 112,114, 116 described below is for illustrative purposes, and is notintended to be limiting, as any of modules 106, 108, 110, 112 mayprovide more or less functionality than is described. For example, oneor more of modules 106, 108, 110, 112 may be eliminated, and some or allof its functionality may be provided by other ones of modules 106, 108,110, 112. As another example, processor 120 may be configured to executeone or more additional modules that may perform some or all of thefunctionality attributed below to one of modules 106, 108, 110, 112.

It is understood that the above description of system 100 is merelyillustrated as one example of a system configured to facilitate a userconfigured assistance request through a chat provided by a virtual spacein accordance with the disclosure. It should be appreciated that in someexamples, a localized system 100 may be configured according to astand-alone architecture such that the system configured to providerewards to a user in a virtual space based on user performance ofgesture in accordance with the disclosure may be localized. For example,the localized system 100 may comprise a processor the same as or similarto the processor 120, e.g., a CPU, a graphical processing unit (GPU),storage, memory, an I/O subsystem, and/or other components included thelocalized system 100. In those examples, the CPU may be configured tocommunicate virtual space state information to the GPU through anysuitable wired or wireless communications such as, but not limited to, apoint-to-point communication like a data bus included in the localizedsystem 100. The GPU may be configured to determine representational viewinformation for presenting instances of virtual space on one or moredisplays coupled to or included in the localized system 100. It shouldalso be appreciated in some other examples, multiple localized systems100 may be connected via any wired or wireless links according to adistributed architecture (e.g., peer to peer networks) such that thelocalized systems 100 may be configured to operate in concert to achieveall or some of the functions of 106, 108, 110, 112, as described above.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of client computing platform 104 as shownin FIG. 1. It will be described with references to FIG. 1. The computingplatform 104 may include any suitable device, for example, handhelddevice (e.g., mobile or smart phone, tablet, etc.), computer server, alaptop computer, desktop computer, media center, gaming console, set topbox, printer or any other suitable device, to name a few. In thisexample, the client computing platform 104 employs a first processor 202operatively connected to system memory 206 and a second processor 204operatively connected to frame buffer 208. This is merely illustrative,as client computing platform 104 may be implemented with more or lessprocessors than those shown. One or both of first processor 202 and/orsecond processor 204 may include a plurality of processing unitsoperating in coordination in some other examples. As shown in thisexample, the first and second processors may be connected using a databus or point to point connections, such the system bus 210, whichtransfers data between each structure of the client computing platform104. Although not shown, the client computing platform 104 may alsoinclude an input device, such as but not limited to, touch screen,motion sensor, mouse, trackball, touchpad, digitizing tablet, joystick,pointing stick, keypad, keyboard, camera, remote controller or any othersuitable input device. The client computing platform 104 may alsoinclude a display, which is also not shown in this example. The displaymay include touch screen, liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emittingdiode (LED) display, organic LED (OLED) displays, cathode ray tube (CRT)display, plasma display, projector screen, electroluminescent displays,vacuum fluorescent (VF) display, laser display, E-ink display or anyother suitable displays, to name a few. The display may be configured toreceive inputs from a user, for example a touchscreen. One of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize other suitable structure, such as butnot limited to, a storage device, a memory controller, an i/o subsystemand/or any other structure may also be included in the system 100.

In this example, the first processor 202 may include a host central unit(CPU) having multiple cores however any suitable processor may beemployed including a DSP, APU, GPGPU or any other suitable processor orlogical circuitry. The first processor 202 may be bi-directionallyconnected to other components of the client computing platform 104 viathe system bus 210. The second processor 204 may include a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), which drives the display device via a displayconnector, such as analog display connectors, for example, compositevideo, S-Video, VGA, digital display connectors, for example, HDMI,mini-DVI, micro-DVI, wireless connectors or any other suitableconnectors. It is understood that, in some other examples of clientcomputing platform 104, the first processor 202 may be integrated withthe second processor 204 to form a general processor. In addition,although the system memory 206 and the frame buffer 208 are shown inFIG. 2 as two separate components in the client computing platform 104,it is also understood that a unified memory architecture that canaccommodate all the processors may also be employed in some otherexamples of the client computing platform 104.

In this example, as shown, the first processor 202 may be configured toexecute a space interface module 212, a chat interface module 214, auser response module 216, an assistance request module 218, and/or anyother modules. The “module” referred to herein is any suitable softwaremodule, hardware, firmware or any suitable combination thereof that canperform the desired function, such as programmed processors, discretelogic, for example, state machine, to name a few. It is furtherunderstood that these modules may be included in the first processor 202as part of the first processor 202, or a discrete component of theclient computing platform 104 that can be executed by the firstprocessor 202, such as software programs stored on computer readablestorage medium that can be loaded into the client computing platform 104and executed by the first processor 202. It is still understood thatthese modules may be combined in some other examples to form anintegrated module that performs the combined functions of these modulesas described herein. It is still understood the number of modules mayvary in some other examples such that, for example, more than one spaceinterface modules 212 may be included in the first processor 202. Thesemodules may communicate with structures in the client computing platform104 such as but not limited to the system memory 206, the secondprocessors 204 and the frame buffer 208 via any suitable communicationlink, such as the system bus 210.

Also shown in this example is the second processor 204, operativelyconnected to the frame buffer 208 via any suitable communication link.The second processor 204 in this example is a graphics processing unit(GPU) that may be configured to process graphics information for adisplay, which is not shown in this example. The second processor 204may be configured to receive graphics information 220 from the firstprocessor 202, e.g., from an output of space interface module 212 and/orchat interface module 214. The second processor 204 may be configured toprocess graphics information to facilitate a presentation of thegraphics information on the display. As shown, the second processor 204may be connected to the frame buffer 208 for storing and retrievinginformation 224 to facilitate the processing of graphics information onthe second processor 204.

As shown, the first processor 202 on the client computing platformclient computing platform 104 may be configured to execute spaceinterface module 212. The space interface module 212 may be configuredto generate space interfaces on the display to the user. The spaceinterfaces may be generated based on view information determined by thespace module 106 as described in FIG. 1, and to present views of thevirtual space to the user. The space interfaces may be generated toprovide one or more virtual space controls to facilitate user actions inthe virtual space. The facilitated actions may include user engagementin a combat and/or defense, virtual space maneuvers directing usercharacter movements, inventory management, city management, constructionof infrastructure, mining activities, virtual recourses and/or itemstrading or purchasing, transferring virtual resources, items and/orentities, picking up virtual space resources, and/or any other actionsin the virtual space.

The chat interface module 214 may be configured to generate graphicalchat interfaces to facilitate presentation of textual communicationsbetween the user associated with the client computing platform 104 andother users in the virtual space. For the pretention of the textualcommunications, the generated graphical chat interfaces may replacespace interfaces generated by the space module 212 on the display. Thatis, when presented on the display, the generated chat interfaces andspace interfaces are mutually exclusive such that the user may notaccess controls provided by the space interfaces when the chatinterfaces are presented on the display, and vice versa.

To facilitate textual communications between the user associated withthe client computing platform 104 and other users, the generated chatinterface by the chat interface module 214 may present on the displaythe textual communications in a chat session. Chat sessions may beimplemented in the chat interfaces by the chat interface module 214through tabs: for example, a global chat tab for a global session and analliance chat tab(s) for an alliance chat session(s) participated by theuser associated with the client computing platform client computingplatform 104. The chat interface module 214 may be configured to managepresentation of different chat sessions on the display for the user.

Communication inputs in a chat session may include assistance requestsgenerated by the chat-request module 108. As described above, theassistance requests may be communicated through chat sessions by thechat module 110 using predetermined syntax. The chat interface module214 may be configured to determine an assistance request from othertype(s) communication inputs in the chat session. In someimplementations, for such a determination, trigger conditions may beconfigured by provider, administrator, moderator, and/or any otherentities with the chat interface module 214 based on the predeterminedsyntax for an assistance request communicated in a chat session.

Responsive to a determination that a communication input is anassistance request, the chat interface module 214 may be configured togenerate visual display of the assistance request in the graphical chatinterface. Examples of such a visual display may include an image, agraphical art, an animation, and/or any other visual display that may begenerated to visually describe the assistance request.

The chat interface module 214 may be configured to generate one or morecontrols for the user associated with client computing platform 104 toprovide inputs to the assistance request. The controls may enablecorresponding actions the user may initiate responding to the assistancerequest. For example, buttons may be generated by the chat interfacemodule 214 to allow the user to specify a response to the assistancerequest, e.g., accept, reject, or modify the assistance request. Incases where the user attempts to modify the terms of the assistancerequest, the chat interface module 214 may generate controls for theuser to provide inputs to modify the terms. Such controls may includepull down menu, input box, dialog box, buttons, forms, radio box,sliding bar, and/or any other controls that may enable the userassociated with the client computing platform 104. In someimplementations, the generated graphical chat interface may includecontrols for a user to initiate a request for assistance through a chatsession. Similar controls to those generated for a responding user tomodify terms of assistance requests may be provided for the user toinitiate an assistance request.

The user response module 216 may be configured to determine userresponses to the assistance requests based on user inputs via thegraphical chat interface generated by the chat interface module 214. Insome implementations, for such a determination, the user response module216 may be configured to parse the user inputs received from thegraphical chat interface, extract assistance parameters from thereceived user inputs and determine user acceptance to the assistancerequest. Responsive to a determination of user acceptance to theassistance request, the user response module 216 may communicate theuser acceptance to the requesting user through a chat session to therequesting user.

The assistance request module 218 may be configured to communicateassistance request through a chat session based on user inputsrequesting assistance submitted through the graphical chat interface. Insome implementations, for such a generation, the assistance requestmodule 218 may be configured to generate communication inputstransmittable in a chat session by parsing the user inputs submittedthrough the graphical chat interface. Responsive to the generatedcommunication inputs, the assistance request module may communicate theuser assistance request to other users through the chat session.

FIG. 3A illustrates one example of a graphical chat interface 300implemented on client computing platform 104 in accordance with thedisclosure. It will be described with references to FIG. 1. As shown,the graphical chat interface 300 is presented on the client computingplatform 104 exclusively such that it replaces any view of the virtualspace. As illustrated, the graphical chat interface 300 may comprisetabs for chat sessions 302. In this example, two chat sessions areavailable through the graphical chat interface 300—a global chat sessionand an alliance chat session. As also shown, in this example, two users,user 1 and user 2, are engaging in textual communications through aglobal chat session 302. Their textual communications 310 may be inputto the global chat session 302 through a text box 304 and a chat button306 included in the graphical chat interface, as shown. The graphicalchat interface 300 also comprises a scroll bar 308 to facilitate thetextual communications between user 1 and user 2. As shown in thisexample, the user 2, through the global chat session, communicated touser 1 for assistance to upgrade user 2's embassy.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of graphical chat interface 300facilitating a user to request an assistance request 324 through a chatsession. In this example, the graphical chat interface 300 is generatedfor user 2 on a client computing platform client computing platform 104associated with user 2. As shown in this example, user 2, in order torequest assistance from user 1 as indicated in the textualcommunications illustrated in FIG. 3A, has selected a request tabprovided by the graphical chat interface 300. As illustrated, graphicalcontrols 322 are provided in the graphical chat interface 300 tofacilitate user 2 to request assistance through the global chat session302. As shown in this example, user 2, through pull down menu 322, hasspecified an assistance objective for the request, i.e., to help upgradeuser 2's embassy and also specified that user 2 needs 1000 stonespecifically for the upgrading of user 2's embassy. As shown, responsiveto user 2's inputs specifying the requested assistance, an assistancerequest 324 may be generated, e.g., by the assistance request module218. As shown, user 2 may initiate the request 324 to be communicated touser 1 through the global chat session 302 via server 102 by using therequest assistance button 320.

FIG. 3C illustrates an example of graphical chat interface 300facilitating a user to accept an assistance request communicated througha chat session. In this example, the graphical chat interface 300 isgenerated for user 1 on a client computing platform client computingplatform 104 associated with user 1. As shown in this example, theassistance request 324 as illustrated in FIG. 3B has been communicatedto user 1 through the global chat session 302 by the server 102.Responsive to the assistance request 324, the graphical chat interface300 for user 1 generates a clickable graphic representation 314 for theassistance request 324 based on the assistance objective specified inthe assistance request 324. As shown, in this example, user 1 acceptsthe assistance request 324 by clicking on the graphic representation314, and the graphical chat interface 300 generates controls 316 foruser 1 to accept the requested assistance, i.e., 1000 stones towardsuser 2's upgrade of the embassy as specified by the assistance request324. As also shown in this example, other users such as user 3 mayengage in textual communications 310 in the global chat session 302, andthe textual communications by user 3 may be unrelated to the assistancerequested by user 2 as illustrated.

FIGS. 3D-3E illustrate examples of graphical chat interface 300facilitating a user to accept the assistance request 324 communicatedthrough a chat session. In both examples, the graphical chat interface300 is generated for user 1 on a client computing platform clientcomputing platform 104 associated with user 1. As shown in FIG. 3D, user1 through the controls 306 provided in the graphical chat interface 300modifies an amount of stones as requested by the assistance request 324.As shown in this example, a sliding bar 318 may be provided in thegraphical chat interface 300 for user 1 to modify the amount of stonesin response to user 2's request. As shown in FIG. 3E, user 1 selects 300stones to be transferred from user 2 to user 1. As a result, a response326 for user 1 may be generated, for example, by the user responsemodule 216 and may be communicated to user 2 through the global chatsession 302 via server 102, as illustrated.

FIG. 3F illustrates an example of graphical chat interface 300facilitating a user to respond to a modified acceptance of assistancerequest 326. In this example, the graphical chat interface 300 isgenerated for user 2 on a client computing platform client computingplatform 104 associated with user 2. As shown in this example, user 1'sacceptance 326 has been communicated to user 2 through the global chatsession 302 via server 102. As shown, responsive to the acceptance 326,the graphical chat interface 300 for user 2 may generate controls 318for user 2 to respond to the modified assistance. In this example, asshown, user 2 has accepted the modified assistance by user 1, i.e., 300stones instead of 1000 stones to be transferred to user 2 towards theembassy upgrading.

FIG. 4A illustrates one example of a graphical chat interface 400implemented on client computing platform 104 in accordance with thedisclosure. It will be described with references to FIG. 1. As shown,the graphical chat interface 400 is presented on the client computingplatform 104 exclusively such that it replaces any view of the virtualspace. As illustrated, the graphical chat interface 400 may comprisetabs for chat sessions 402. In this example, two chat sessions areavailable through the graphical chat interface 400—a global chat sessionand an alliance chat session. As also shown, in this example, threeusers, user 1, user 2 and user 3, are engaging with each other throughan alliance chat session 402. Their textual communications 410 may beinput to the alliance chat session 402 through a text box 404 and a chatbutton 406 included in the graphical chat interface 400, as shown. Thegraphical chat interface 400 also comprises a scroll bar 408 tofacilitate the textual communications 410 between the users. As shown inthis example, user 1, through the alliance chat session 402,communicated to user 2 and 3 for assistance for more troops to be sentto city A and to help user 1 to defend city A.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of chat interface 400 as shown in FIG. 4Afacilitating a user to transport troops to a city through an alliancechat. In this example, the graphical chat interface 400 is generated foruser 2 on a client computing platform client computing platform 104associated with user 2. As shown, the graphical chat interface 400,responsive to an assistance request from user 1 for transporting troopsto city A, generates a clickable graphical representation 412 for theassistance request. In this example, user 2 has accepted the assistancerequest and the graphical chat interface 400 generates a control 414 foruser 2 to specify types and number of troops that may be transported tocity A.

FIG. 4C illustrates an example of chat interface 400 facilitating a userto specify types and amount of troops to be transported to a city inresponse to an assistance request in a chat session. As shown in thisexample, user 2 has specified to provide 500 supply troops and 100militiamen in response to user 1's assistance request through controls414 provided in the graphical chat interface 400.

FIG. 4D illustrates an example of chat interface 400 as shown in FIG. 4Afacilitating a user to transport troops to a city through an alliancechat. In this example, the graphical chat interface 400 is generated foruser 3 on a client computing platform client computing platform 104associated with user 3. As shown, the graphical chat interface 400,responsive to an assistance request from user 1 for transporting troopsto city A, generates a clickable graphical representation 412 for theassistance request. In this example, user 3 has accepted the assistancerequest and the graphical chat interface 400 generates a control 414 foruser 3 to specify types and number of troops that may be transported tocity A. It should be noted, as shown in this example, the controls 414generated for user 3 may be different from those generated for user 2 asshown in FIG. 4C. As illustrated, in this example, user 3 has chosenonly to show supply troops in the control 414. As a result, options fortransporting non-supply troops are disabled in control 414 for user 3.In this example, as shown, user 3 has specified to transport 600 supplywagons to city A in response to user 1's assistance request.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 of enabling a user to request assistancethrough a chat in accordance with the disclosure. The operations ofmethod 500 presented below are intended to be illustrative. In someembodiments, method 500 may be accomplished with one or more additionaloperations not described, and/or without one or more of the operationsdiscussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of method 500are illustrated in FIG. 5 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some embodiments, method 500 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 500 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 500.

At operation 502, a graphical chat interface may be determined for auser to provide inputs to request assistance through a chat session. Thedetermined graphical chat interfaces may comprise controls through whichthe user may specify assistance parameters such as objective, type,amount of virtual space resource, items, entities, and/or other virtualspace elements to be transferred to the requesting user, and/or anyother assistance parameters. In some implementations, operation 502 maybe performed by a chat interface module the same as or similar to chatinterface module 214 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 504, the determined graphical chat interface may bepresented to the user, e.g., on a client computing platform 104associated with the user. In some implementations, operation 504 may beperformed by a chat interface module the same as or similar to chatinterface module 214 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 506, user inputs requesting assistance may be receivedthrough the graphical chat interface provided to the user in operation504. In some implementations, operation 506 may be performed by a chatinterface module the same as or similar to chat interface module 214(shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 508, communication inputs to the chat session may begenerated based on the user inputs received in the operation 506. Insome implementations, operation 508 may be performed by an assistancerequest module the same as or similar to the assistance request module218 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 510, the communication inputs generated in the operation508 may be communicated to other users through the chat session. In someimplementations, operation 510 may be performed by a assistance requestmodule the same as or similar to the assistance request module 218(shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 of facilitating a user to accept anassistance request through a chat session. The operations of method 600presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments,method 600 may be accomplished with one or more additional operationsnot described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed.Additionally, the order in which the operations of method 600 areillustrated in FIG. 6 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some embodiments, method 600 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 600 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 600.

At operation 602, an assistance request may be received through a chatsession. In some implementations, operation 602 may be performed by achat interface module the same as or similar to chat interface module214 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 604, a graphical chat interface may be determined forpresentation of the assistance request received in the operation 602.The determined graphical chat interface may facilitate a user to respondthe assistance request received in operation 602. In someimplementations, operation 604 may be performed by a chat interfacemodule the same as or similar to chat interface module 214 (shown inFIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 606, user inputs indicating acceptance to the assistancerequest may be received from the graphical chat interface determined inoperation 604. In some implementations, operation 606 may be performedby a chat interface module the same as or similar to chat interfacemodule 214 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 608, communication inputs to the chat session may begenerated based on the user inputs received in operation 606. In someimplementations, operation 608 may be performed by a user responsemodule the same as or similar to the user response module 216 (shown inFIG. 2 and described herein).

At operation 610, the communication inputs generated in the operation608 may be communicated to the assistance requesting user through thechat session. In some implementations, operation 610 may be performed bya user response module the same as or similar to the user responsemodule 216 (shown in FIG. 2 and described herein).

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 of generating an assistance request andcommunicating the assistance request through a chat session. Theoperations of method 700 presented below are intended to beillustrative. In some embodiments, method 700 may be accomplished withone or more additional operations not described, and/or without one ormore of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which theoperations of method 700 are illustrated in FIG. 7 and described belowis not intended to be limiting.

In some embodiments, method 700 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 700 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 700.

At operation 702, an instance of a virtual space may be executed andimplemented to determine view information for transmission to one ormore client computing platforms associated with users. The users mayparticipate in the virtual space by controlling entities therein. Insome implementations, operation 702 may be performed by a space modulethe same as or similar to space module 106 (shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed herein).

At operation 704, user inputs requesting assistance may be received froma requesting use through a chat session. In some implementations,operation 704 may be performed by a chat module the same as or similarto chat module 110 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 706, an assistance request may be generated based on theuser inputs received in operation 704. In some implementations,operation 706 may be performed by a chat-request module the same as orsimilar to chat-request module 108 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein).

At operation 708, the assistance requests may be communicated otherusers in the chat session. In some implementations, operation 708 may beperformed by a chat module the same as or similar to chat module 110(shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 710, user inputs indicating acceptance to the assistancerequest may be received from a responding user. In some implementations,operation 710 may be performed by a request-response module the same asor similar to response-request module 112 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein).

At operation 712, an assistance command executable in the virtual spacemay be generated. In some implementations, operation 712 may beperformed by a request-response module the same as or similar toresponse-request module 112 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 714, the assistance command generated in operation 712 maybe executed in the virtual space. In some implementations, operation 714may be performed by a space module the same as or similar to spacemodule 106 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

Although the present technology has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to facilitate requests forassistance, the system comprising: a memory; and one or more processorscoupled to the memory and configured by machine-readable instructionsto: execute an instance of an online application, to implement theinstance of the online application by receiving and executing commandsto facilitate user interactions through user interfaces between userswithin the online application, wherein the users include a first userassociated with a first client computing platform and a second userassociated with a second client computing platform, wherein the userinterfaces include a first user interface presented to the first user onthe first client computing platform and a second user interfacepresented to the second user on the second client computing platform;present graphical chat interfaces to facilitate textual communicationsbetween the users within the online application, wherein the graphicalchat interfaces include a first graphical chat interface presented tothe first user and a second graphical chat interface presented to thesecond user such that the graphical chat interfaces replace at leastpart of the user interfaces to present the textual communications;receive one or more first user inputs from the first user requestingassistance, wherein the one or more first user inputs are receivedthrough the first graphical chat interface; and present the requestedassistance for presentation to the second user, wherein the requestedassistance requests one or more types of virtual resources and/or one ormore virtual items to be provided and/or transferred to the first user.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the textual communications arefacilitated synchronously.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ormore processors are further configured by machine-readable instructionsto generate a first assistance request based on the one or more firstuser inputs received from the first user.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein communication of the requested assistance is effectuated throughan alliance chat session the first and second users belong to.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured by machine-readable instructions to: generate, responsive toreceiving user inputs from a third user requesting assistance, a secondassistance request and effectuate communication of the second assistancerequest to a fourth user through a chat session participated by thefourth user through a fourth graphical chat interface implemented on agiven client computing platform associated with the fourth user.
 6. Asystem configured to facilitate assistance requests within an instanceof an online application, and implementing the instance of the onlineapplication, wherein the assistance requests include a first assistancerequest from a first user, the system comprising: a memory; and one ormore processors coupled to the memory and configured by machine-readableinstructions to: generate a user interface to present views of theonline application on a display associated with a second user; andgenerate a graphical chat interface to facilitate textual communicationsbetween the first and second user, wherein the graphical chat interfaceis presented to the second user such that it replaces at least part ofthe user interface, wherein the graphical chat interface includes visualdisplay of the first assistance request and one or more controlsenabling the second user to provide user inputs for responding to thefirst assistance request; receive a response to the first assistancerequest from the second user based on the user inputs provided by thesecond user through the graphical chat interface; and effectuatecommunication of the response to the first user.
 7. The system of claim6, wherein the textual communications are facilitated synchronously. 8.The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured by machine-readable instructions such that the graphical chatinterface includes one or more controls enabling the second user toprovide user inputs requesting assistance from other users.
 9. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured by machine-readable instructions such that the graphical chatinterface comprises one or more controls for the second user to modifyterms of the first assistance request.
 10. A method for facilitatingrequests for assistance, the method being implemented in one or morephysical processors configured by machine-readable instructions, themethod comprising: executing an instance of an online application andimplementing the instance of the online application by receiving andexecuting commands to facilitate user interactions through userinterfaces between users within the online application, wherein theusers include a first user associated with a first client computingplatform and a second user associated with a second client computingplatform, wherein the user interfaces include a first user interfacepresented to the first user on the first client computing platform and asecond user interface presented to the second user on the second clientcomputing platform; presenting graphical chat interfaces to facilitatetextual communications between the users within the online application,wherein the graphical chat interfaces include a first graphical chatinterface presented to the first user and a second graphical chatinterface presented to the second user such that the graphical chatinterfaces replace at least part of the user interfaces to present thetextual communications; receiving one or more first user inputs from thefirst user requesting assistance, wherein the one or more first userinputs are received through the first graphical chat interface; andpresenting the requested assistance to the second user, wherein therequested assistance requests one or more types of virtual resourcesand/or one or more virtual items to be provided to and/or transferred tothe first user
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the textualcommunications are facilitated synchronously.
 12. The method of claim10, further comprising: generating a first assistance request based onthe one or more first user inputs received from the first user.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the communication of the requestedassistance is effectuated through an alliance chat session the first andsecond users belong to.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:responsive to receiving user inputs from a third user requestingassistance, generating a second assistance request and effectuatingcommunication of the second assistance request to a fourth user througha chat session participated by the fourth user through a fourthgraphical chat interface implemented on a given client computingplatform associated with the fourth user.
 15. A method for facilitatingassistance requests within an instance of an online application, whereinthe assistance requests include a first assistance request from a firstuser, the method being implemented in one or more physical processorsconfigured by machine-readable instructions, the method comprising:generating a user interface to present views of the online applicationon a display associated with a second user; generating a graphical chatinterface to facilitate textual communications between the first andsecond user, wherein the graphical chat interface is presented to thesecond user such that it replaces at least part of the user interface,wherein the graphical chat interface includes visual display of thefirst assistance request and one or more controls enabling the seconduser to provide user inputs for responding to the first assistancerequest; receiving a response to the first assistance request from thesecond user based on the user inputs provided by the second user throughthe graphical chat interface; and effectuating communication of theresponse to the first user.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thetextual communications are facilitated synchronously.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the graphical chat interface further includes one ormore controls enabling the second user to provide user inputs requestingassistance from other users.